Three Wisconsin medical groups have been awarded over $5 million in total to implement NIH’s All of Us Research Program.

The National Institutes of Health started the nationwide All of Us Research Program with a goal of making more progress in precision medicine -- a newer treatment methodology which takes into account information about an individual’s genetic makeup, environment and daily life.

Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin have collectively been awarded $5,360,832 to help get Wisconsin residents involved with the program. They will work with BloodCenter of Wisconsin and regional Federally Qualified Health Centers to recruit participants for research studies.

Participants will share their health data by answering surveys, undergoing physical examinations, providing blood and urine samples and more. Participants get to decide how much data they want to share.

All of this information will go into a database to be used by researchers around the world to better understand how certain factors impact health. NIH says this could lead to entirely new medical treatments for individuals.

The program aims to recruit more than 1 million people across the country for this effort. The three Wisconsin partners in this effort will cover 173 clinics, 13 hospitals and five FQHCs. BloodCenter of Wisconsin will attempt to get some of its thousands of donors to take part in the program.

“BloodCenter of Wisconsin’s involvement in the All of Us Research Program is a continuation and notable reflection of our collaborative efforts with Wisconsin’s scientific and medical community,” said Gilbert White, executive vice president for research at the BloodCenter of Wisconsin.

This news comes as the UW School of Medicine and Public Health is preparing to build its new Center for Human Genomics and Personalized Medicine, which will focus its efforts on expanding the community of professionals and academics who are working to advance the field of precision medicine.

“The timing is wonderful,” said Robert Golden, dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. He says the award will help to align efforts for partner institutions and put Wisconsin in a position to lead the way in precision treatment.